Category: Sales

Some people scorn
folks who play
the lottery.
They see it
as throwing money away.
They ridicule lottery players
as being bad at math.

I don’t see much difference
between selling lottery tickets
and selling romance novels (my product).

We’re both selling dreams.
We’re both selling escape.

For a couple of dollars,
lottery players can dream
for a week
about winning the lottery,
about doing everything
they ever wanted,
having no financial restrictions.

For three dollars,
readers can buy a romance novel
and escape the world,
live another life
for a day or two.
They can go on adventures.
They can dream.

Dreams are powerful,
so powerful people are willing
to pay for them.

Does the business you’re building
sell dreams?

I can’t compete
in the Romance Novel Business
based on price.
There are thousands,
maybe millions
of writers who are willing
to give their books away.

To price lower
than these writers,
I’d have to PAY folks
to read my books.

I compete on value.
I write stories
readers will re-read.
It will give them
that much enjoyment.

Seth Godin
shares

“Low price is the last refuge
for marketers
who don’t have the patience
or guts
to demonstrate value
for those that need it.”

For small businesses,
it is challenging to compete
on price.
It is much easier
(but not easy)
to compete on value.

A writer was complaining
that a reader
objected to him
sending messages
about his upcoming releases
via Facebook messages.

I told him
she wasn’t alone.
Many readers
view Facebook messages
as a personal form
of communication.

He told me
that was stupid.
He was going to continue
communicating that way
and if people didn’t like it,
they could block him.

I blocked him.

When a customer tells you
the way she wants to be communicated with,
listen to her
and communicate that way.

It’s that simple.

A loved one has been job hunting.
He had 13 interviews
with one company.
Only 1 of those interviews
was in person.
The other 12 were held
via video call.
(I suspect they were also recorded.)

Being able to video call
well
is a skill
many of us
need to now master
to be successful.

My tip is to treat the call
as though it was
a face-to-face meeting.

Assume everything you do,
the other person will see.
Wear the same clothing
you’d wear
for the face-to-face meeting.
Pay attention.
Don’t fall asleep or walk away.

Be aware of what others are seeing.
Ensure you can control
your background
(folks aren’t walking behind you,
making obscene gestures).
Make it as plain as possible.

Seth Godin
shares

“When you’re on mute
during an audio call,
you can do whatever you want.
But when you’re on mute
on a video call,
you need to act
like you’re truly engaged.
Nod your head.
Focus on the screen.
Don’t get up and feed your dog.”

Take the time
to learn how to video call well.
It is now a necessary skill.

I pitched a story idea
to my agent last week
via email.
She never responded.

I will either
ask another agent
to shop it around
or
I’ll self publish it.

Why didn’t I follow up
with her?

Because if she wasn’t excited
enough about the premise
to respond to me,
she wasn’t excited enough
to sell it to a publisher.

Don’t work with salespeople
who don’t want to work with you.

Many people believe
a loved one of mine
is a ‘born salesman.’
He can sell anyone
anything.

He’s a GREAT salesman
but that didn’t come naturally
to him.
Not at all.

He has taken doctorates worth
of sales, marketing, speaking,
psychology and other courses.
He reads and watches webinars.
He has shadowed other great salespeople.
He has constantly learned
about the craft
and is continuing to learn
about it.

As Seth Godin
shares

“There’s no such thing
as a born salesperson.

What there are…
are people with empathy
and learned charisma
who choose to work hard.”

If you suck at sales,
THAT is natural.
Everyone starts there.

Not everyone finishes there.
Learn how to sell.
It is one of the most important skills
a business builder can obtain.

If you, as a business builder,
complain
on a public forum/social media
about lack of sales,
you are unlikely to receive
a rush of sales.

You are VERY likely to receive
a rush of ADVICE
about how to gain more sales,
however.

That’s the guideline
– whatever you complain about,
you’ll receive advice about.

(Note: Prefacing the post
by saying you don’t want advice
won’t endear you
to your audience.)

If you want to complain
without receiving advice,
complain privately
to close friends or family.

Or better yet,
send an email to yourself.

Don’t complain publicly
unless you want advice.

I’m re-releasing a shorter story
this month.
Each sale of the story
will earn me 35 cents.

The story has a new cover.
That’s the only change.
But some readers
who have purchased
the story previously
want that new cover.

So I’m giving it to them
for free.

Forgoing the 35 cents now
will earn me $2 in September
(my next release),
$2 in November
(the release after that),
$2 with every other release.

I’ll likely have a reader (customer) for life.

As Seth Godin
shares

“Compounded over time,
little things become big things.”

When making decisions,
look at both the short term
AND
the long term consequences.

Some people feel
they shouldn’t have to pay
for eBooks.
Producing two copies of an eBook
is the same cost
as producing one copy of an eBook.

There are a few issues with this.
There ARE incremental costs.
There are the distribution costs
and the marketing costs.
The books I give away
for free
cost me money.

Also, pricing usually takes into account
a certain number of copies sold.
Producing one copy
might cost me $1,000.
Of course, I can’t charge
that first customer the full $1,000.
I spread it over
an estimated number of customers.

One way I convince readers
to pay $2.99 for a 200 page eBook
is by selling them an ongoing experience.

They aren’t merely buying an eBook.
They’re buying a world.

My newsletter includes updates
on this world.
Future eBooks
reference the first eBooks.
I send out baby announcements,
craft images for holidays
like Mother’s Day.

Software has the same selling challenge.

Seth Godin
shares

“I like paying for my software
when I’m buying it
from a company that’s responsive,
fast and focused.
I like being the customer
(as opposed to a social network,
where I’m the product).”

If you’re selling a product
that has low incremental costs,
consider selling more than that product.

Seasonality affects
almost every business.

In the Romance Novel eBook Business,
the first 24 days of December
and the entire month of August
are low sales times.

I don’t release new books
during that time.
I tend to promote my products hard
before and after these dates,
and I promote less
during the dead times.

Business builders
in other industries
do that opposite.

Franco Francese,
owner of Mattone
Restaurant and Bar,
shares

“During the slow summer months,
we increase advertising
with digital and print advertising,
as well as public relations.

We use OpenTable for reservations,
which entices customers
by providing them
with points for
booking through this service.”

Figure out the seasonality
of your business
and then test methods
to ensure you’ll survive
the low sales times.